WEBVTT - Valerie Jarrett: Advising POTUS 0:00:05.040 --> 0:00:09.480 We've moved our studio. Today we're sitting in the Eisenhower 0:00:09.560 --> 0:00:12.959 Executive Office Building, right across the street from the White House, 0:00:13.200 --> 0:00:16.120 which is where a lot of the quote White House 0:00:16.160 --> 0:00:19.080 officials actually work. I mean, many of them would rather 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:22.119 have a tiny little broom closet in the actual White 0:00:22.160 --> 0:00:24.200 House than a palace in the e E E O B. 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:28.440 But it's it's quite spectacular here. Yes, the room is beautiful. 0:00:28.600 --> 0:00:31.880 It has some kind of gold bronze e I would say, 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:36.320 sort of gilded wallpaper, a lot of portraits of men 0:00:36.479 --> 0:00:39.240 looking very stern, and I have no idea who they are. 0:00:39.479 --> 0:00:41.920 I think there's enough goal that Donald Trump would feel 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:44.960 pretty comfortable, and I think so too. But this is 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:47.440 actually a war room. We hear a lot about war 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:50.520 rooms and campaigns, but this is a warm room here 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:52.879 in the E O B. Well, I think part of 0:00:52.920 --> 0:00:55.960 this building used to house the offices of the old 0:00:56.040 --> 0:00:59.280 Secretary of War. We didn't have a Secretary of Defense 0:00:59.360 --> 0:01:03.960 until after World War Two, and so the person who 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:08.000 held that office, which I believe excluded the Navy um, 0:01:08.200 --> 0:01:12.800 would have benefited from some of these very fancy rooms. 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:17.520 I feel powerful just sitting here, Brian, and talk about power. 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:21.840 We have a very special guest, Valerie Jarrett. She is 0:01:22.560 --> 0:01:26.200 a top advisor to the President but also probably the 0:01:26.280 --> 0:01:31.560 best fob friend of Barack of anyone who works here, 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:35.880 so it proximity to power is the closest thing literally 0:01:35.959 --> 0:01:40.360 to power. I think she was in an enviable position. 0:01:40.640 --> 0:01:45.920 She certainly has witnessed an extraordinary eight years and it 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:48.600 will be so interesting to hear her talk about the 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:51.200 high points and some of the low points as well. 0:01:51.440 --> 0:01:54.240 And it will be fascinating to hear her views on 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:57.840 the fact that Barack Obama is going to be succeeded 0:01:57.840 --> 0:02:01.280 by someone who essentially ran to over return his presidency. 0:02:01.320 --> 0:02:04.320 I'm sure that's a very painful point for a lot 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:13.000 of Obama loyalists. It's we good, okay, Bellery Charet. We're 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:15.880 so excited to have you on our podcast, Welcome to 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:18.320 the White House, Katie, delighted to have you. Thank you, 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:20.720 and Brian and I have been so looking forward to 0:02:20.720 --> 0:02:23.600 this interview, and we wanted to start by asking you 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:27.120 how you're feeling. I mean, this must be an incredibly 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:31.720 emotional time for you. The end of the Obama administration 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:36.040 is coming soon. Tell us how you're feeling well, you 0:02:36.080 --> 0:02:39.520 know I've been here since day one, January two thousand 0:02:39.600 --> 0:02:43.920 and nine, that it has been truly the most remarkable 0:02:44.040 --> 0:02:46.000 eight years of my life to be able to be 0:02:46.560 --> 0:02:50.960 uh witness to a transformative time in our country, and 0:02:51.160 --> 0:02:53.600 really to have that bird's eye view and have the 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:55.640 ability to work with someone who I have known for 0:02:55.680 --> 0:02:59.120 twenty five years in respect and love both he and 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:02.040 his wife. So dear so, I think in the course 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:05.280 of the day, I probably have every possible imaginable emotion. 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:10.440 So just name some of those emotions. Well, appreciation for 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:12.560 the people with whom I've had the privilege of working 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:16.359 here in the White House, as well as ordinary Americans 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:19.240 from around the country who uh we have had the 0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:23.079 privilege of touching and having them touch us. And I 0:03:23.120 --> 0:03:26.919 will cherish the memories I have of the team here 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:29.400 and those folks for as long as I live. So 0:03:29.480 --> 0:03:33.679 you have very positive, obviously positive memories of being here. 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:37.360 But I imagine there have been some disappointments. There have 0:03:37.480 --> 0:03:41.120 been some disappointments along the way, some frustrations. There have 0:03:41.200 --> 0:03:45.040 been frustration times since you've been just really ticked off. True, 0:03:45.320 --> 0:03:49.280 that's true, That's all true. But I will say, um 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:52.080 by nature, I have an optimistic spirit. But the other 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:56.080 thing I'll say is is that UM. One of the 0:03:56.120 --> 0:04:00.040 important UM strengths I think that the President has and 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:02.160 I have tried to learn, is to take the long 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:06.160 view and to recognize that there is an entrenchment in 0:04:06.240 --> 0:04:08.720 holding onto the status quo, and that when we are 0:04:08.760 --> 0:04:11.280 the force for change, that means it's going to make 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:15.080 people uncomfortable. And sometimes people resist change, even if it's 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:17.400 changed for the better, because we all kind of like 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:20.360 the comfort zone. And so when you come here and 0:04:20.400 --> 0:04:23.000 your intend is to kind of disrupt that status quo, 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:25.760 you're going to take an inevitable amount of heat, and 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:28.359 that's going to cause frustration. Some of the criticism is 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:34.880 totally unjustifiable. Some of it, you know, constructive criticism always welcome, UM. 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:37.800 But I think what has frustrated me most is the 0:04:37.880 --> 0:04:41.320 people who have put their short term political interests ahead 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:44.120 of what's good for our country. So that I won't miss, 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:46.760 but most other things I will. Can you give me 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:50.040 example of somebody who did that? Sure, I can't easily. 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:53.960 Senator McConnell, who decided on day one that his number 0:04:54.000 --> 0:04:57.320 one objective was going to be to ensure that President 0:04:57.320 --> 0:05:00.279 Obama was not re elected. So let me take back 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:03.040 to what was going on in day one. Our economy 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:04.880 was in a free fall. Our banks were in the 0:05:04.960 --> 0:05:10.000 Virgin collapse. The automobile industry was literally in bankruptcy. We 0:05:10.080 --> 0:05:13.159 had a healthcare crisis, We were in two wars. We 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:16.960 had a total dependence on foreign oil. Your number one 0:05:16.960 --> 0:05:19.599 goal is to make sure President Obama doesn't get re elected. 0:05:19.600 --> 0:05:21.720 How About let's write the economy. How About let's make 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:24.320 sure everybody gets healthcare. How About let's figure out how 0:05:24.360 --> 0:05:27.480 we can wind down the wars and try to uh 0:05:27.480 --> 0:05:31.320 find Osama bin Laden. Those were constructive things that we 0:05:31.360 --> 0:05:35.680 could have done together. And so his willingness again to 0:05:35.800 --> 0:05:39.200 just focus through the political lens as opposed to how 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:41.400 can I make sure that you can afford to go 0:05:41.440 --> 0:05:43.880 to college and that your kids can have a better 0:05:43.920 --> 0:05:47.920 life than you. So before we talk more about politics, 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:52.240 Senator McConnell, Donald Trump, the last days of President Obama's 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:55.120 time in the White House. UM, I'd like the audience 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:57.320 to get to know you a little bit better, because 0:05:57.360 --> 0:06:01.600 your story is pretty extraordinary. You were born to American 0:06:01.680 --> 0:06:07.120 parents in Shahra's Iran. What were you doing there? Well, 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:11.320 I was there because my mother was there. So my 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:17.200 father was a physician and when he was discharged from 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:21.039 the army, he was looking for ways of continuing what 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:25.599 he enjoyed most, which was research. And uh, he and 0:06:25.680 --> 0:06:28.760 my mother are adventuresome spirits, and a lot of the 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:31.120 jobs that he was applying for in the United States, 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:33.839 because he was African American, we're offering him salaries that 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:37.800 were not competitive with his peers. And so they said, well, look, 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:40.240 let's just go on an adventure. At a time when 0:06:40.279 --> 0:06:43.000 they didn't have children, and so they started looking for 0:06:43.160 --> 0:06:46.719 job opportunities. At that point, the um Iran and the 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:51.240 United States had extraordinarily strong diplomatic ties, and the Shaw 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:56.000 of Iran was very interested in ensuring that the Iranian 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:59.320 citizens were receiving the best possible health care. So he 0:06:59.400 --> 0:07:03.400 recruited through his Department of Health, physicians from all over 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:06.039 the country, all over the world, not just the United States, 0:07:06.040 --> 0:07:08.479 but all over the world to come and help start 0:07:08.560 --> 0:07:11.800 hospitals in regions that didn't have state of the art hospitals. 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:16.560 So my dad helped start the Namazi Hospital in Sharaz 0:07:16.600 --> 0:07:18.840 and I was the second baby born in the hospital. 0:07:18.920 --> 0:07:22.720 Why didn't you become a doctor two reasons um. One 0:07:23.280 --> 0:07:27.960 organic chemistry, I feel that was a show stopper, and 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:31.520 the second, which was in rapid um tandem, is that 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:34.200 I was dating a medical student who took me to 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:39.120 his anatomy class where they were dissecting cadavers. You know. 0:07:39.320 --> 0:07:41.880 After that, that was that. But I did intend to 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:44.440 be premed when I first started went to Stanford. I 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:46.920 went to Stanford and University of Michigan, and then I 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:50.240 after medicine fell through, I decided we'll be a lawyer. 0:07:50.280 --> 0:07:52.200 So then I went to write to the University of Michigan. 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:55.960 And then you returned to Chicago, where you're played a 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:59.480 pretty sort of storied role in that city's history, in 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:02.480 particularly to African American history. Can you talk a little 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:07.640 bit about that. Yeah, well, I think probably the commitment 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:12.000 UH to service goes way back in my family. My 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:15.440 great grandfather was first African American to graduate from m 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:18.920 I t UH. He was the first African American architect 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:25.280 in the country and devoted his life to um building UH, 0:08:25.400 --> 0:08:29.000 primarily at Tuskegee Institute. He designed most of the buildings 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:31.400 on that campus, but he also did schools around the 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:35.080 country and cared a lot about ways of making sure 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:38.880 that the African American community was housed well. And then 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:42.280 his son, whose name was also Robert Taylor, was the 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:47.000 chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority. And so those were 0:08:47.040 --> 0:08:49.520 my two of my ancestors. And then my parents always 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:52.720 were both academics, but always believed in public service and 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:55.640 giving back to communities, to those who much has given 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:59.120 much as expected was the value that I was raised by. 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:02.120 Going into bublic policy was really in your genes. I 0:09:02.160 --> 0:09:05.679 think a lot of responsibility. I mean, it's so incredibly 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:10.400 impressive when you hear about your family history. Did you 0:09:10.480 --> 0:09:13.200 feel that you had to continue that tradition in any 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:15.960 way or do you think it was so It wasn't pressure, 0:09:16.040 --> 0:09:19.400 Katie at all. I never felt a burden to do 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:25.160 something committed to making our community better, however we define 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:28.400 that community. And in fact, I spent the first six 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:32.720 years of my career practicing law, and my parents thought 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:35.280 it was terrific I had. I was the first lawyer 0:09:35.280 --> 0:09:39.480 in our family. I worked for big law firms, fancy offices, 0:09:40.040 --> 0:09:43.760 and he was actually having my daughter that made me 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:47.440 realize that what I was doing wasn't sufficiently satisfying. And 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:49.520 you know, when you leave your kids, you want to 0:09:49.520 --> 0:09:52.440 be doing something important. UM. And I was at that 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:55.520 point a single mom, and so I felt drawn to 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:57.600 be there and be home and be that perfect parent. 0:09:57.640 --> 0:09:59.680 And yet every day I was doing something I didn't 0:09:59.720 --> 0:10:02.640 think as useful and I didn't think it was something 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:06.440 that would make her proud. And so in terms of 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:08.719 my motivation, I think my parents just wanted me to 0:10:08.760 --> 0:10:11.160 work hard and do something that I cared about. I 0:10:11.200 --> 0:10:14.560 wanted her to think highly of me, and that's what 0:10:14.679 --> 0:10:19.720 drove me into public service. You also, um, obviously became 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:23.199 very very friendly with the Obama's early on, and you 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:26.000 played a bit of a role, Valerie, I know, in 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:29.600 their courtship. UM. See that now, all right, now, let's 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:33.720 say good, let's correctly because we're confused about it. You know, 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:36.240 it's been everything from you set them up on their 0:10:36.240 --> 0:10:39.640 first date to you what I recall that you went 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:42.959 out with them one night. I did. I did after 0:10:43.040 --> 0:10:46.400 they were engaged. So I take no credit for the romance, 0:10:46.920 --> 0:10:49.800 UM getting going. And in fact, the reason we went 0:10:49.840 --> 0:10:52.520 out to dinner is because I had offered the first 0:10:52.559 --> 0:10:54.640 lady a job working for me in the Mayor's office. 0:10:54.679 --> 0:10:57.360 I was Mayor Daily's deputy chief of staff at the time, 0:10:57.960 --> 0:10:59.920 and someone had sent me her resume and said, you know, 0:11:00.040 --> 0:11:02.640 brilliant young woman has no interest in being at a 0:11:02.679 --> 0:11:04.600 law firm. And I said, that's my kind of person, 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:08.480 and so I, uh, ten minutes into the interview, I 0:11:08.520 --> 0:11:11.520 was just bowled over, and also realized after about ten 0:11:11.520 --> 0:11:14.360 minutes I was no longer interviewing her. She was interviewing me, 0:11:14.520 --> 0:11:16.199 and I was trying to sell her on why she 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:19.320 should do this, and I made her an instant job offer. 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:21.400 She said, wisely, let me think about it. And then 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:24.400 when she got back in touch, she said, my feelance 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:27.000 thinks it's a dreadful idea, and he doesn't want me 0:11:27.040 --> 0:11:29.840 to go work in the mayor's office. He's started as 0:11:29.880 --> 0:11:33.439 a community organizer, rallying against government, trying to force government 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:36.400 to be a force for good, and he's concerned that 0:11:36.480 --> 0:11:39.559 if I'm in there, then maybe, you know, we might disagree, 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:42.120 and what will happen if I if she disagrees with 0:11:42.800 --> 0:11:46.280 what the mayor wants to do? Long story, Sure, she said, 0:11:46.280 --> 0:11:48.320 would you mind having dinner with us and let's talk 0:11:48.320 --> 0:11:50.600 it through and let's see if we can convince him 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:52.560 that you're right and it's a good fit and that 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:55.640 he's wrong. And I did, and that was years ago. 0:11:55.760 --> 0:11:58.319 What did you say to convince him? I still remember 0:11:58.600 --> 0:12:02.320 that dinner pretty well. You're smart, asked that question. We 0:12:02.400 --> 0:12:05.079 talked about and he was very good at getting me 0:12:05.120 --> 0:12:07.440 to open up about all kinds of things. Uh. We 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:11.480 talked about my first five years living in Iran at 0:12:11.520 --> 0:12:14.040 the time he spent in Indonesia, what it was like 0:12:14.120 --> 0:12:16.000 for me to go from Iran to London for a 0:12:16.080 --> 0:12:18.760 year and then back to the United States, where I 0:12:18.960 --> 0:12:23.240 had an English accent and spoke three languages and started 0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:25.560 at a public school, and kind of the bullying that 0:12:25.640 --> 0:12:28.320 I went through and the teasing, so everything was just 0:12:28.840 --> 0:12:30.679 totally screwed up when I first came back to the 0:12:30.760 --> 0:12:32.200 United States. And then he talked about what it was 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:34.960 like for him living in Indonesia and then going to 0:12:35.040 --> 0:12:39.920 Hawaii and being from mixed parents and and so it 0:12:39.960 --> 0:12:42.720 was a really frank onnest conversation kind of about who 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:44.880 we were as people, what our view was of the world, 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:47.440 what it was like to live outside of the United States, 0:12:47.440 --> 0:12:50.880 and how that gave us an appreciation for the United 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:53.280 States and just how extraordinary of a country it is. 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:57.040 And I think that those basic kind of core values 0:12:57.080 --> 0:13:00.360 and perspective about the world is where we first did. 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:04.760 So did he have you at Hello? No, he had 0:13:04.760 --> 0:13:07.400 me after like three hours. He had me hit Alo, 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:09.880 he had me before dinner. I think I had him 0:13:09.920 --> 0:13:11.640 after the end of that dinner, because at the end 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:13.400 of the dinner I said, I know, this was a test, 0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:15.679 how did I do? And They're like, we'll get back 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:17.920 to you. But she did end up coming and joining 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:20.680 my team with White at the Mayor's office. So was 0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:23.280 that the beginning of your friendship? Yes, it was, and 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:27.040 we worked together for a couple of years, and when 0:13:27.080 --> 0:13:29.600 he first ran for state senate, I helped him on 0:13:29.640 --> 0:13:33.000 that campaign. And then later the first lady joined the 0:13:33.040 --> 0:13:35.760 University of Chicago and I was on the board there, 0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:38.200 and she joined the Medical Center where I chaired the board, 0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:42.200 and so her paths and mine crossed professionally until we 0:13:42.280 --> 0:13:45.839 came here. And then when he ran for U S Senate, 0:13:45.880 --> 0:13:48.640 I chaired his finance committee and we lived in the 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:52.079 same neighborhood. I've known, Uh, he's known my daughter. I 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:54.000 think we were talking last night since she was six, 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:57.720 So it goes back a long way. So you became 0:13:57.760 --> 0:14:02.960 one of three senior advisors UH in the Obama administration. 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:08.080 Do you think that your friendship has ever not served 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:11.520 both of you? Well, there have there been times during 0:14:11.520 --> 0:14:14.600 these eight years where I don't know where you were 0:14:14.640 --> 0:14:19.400 emotionally usurped maybe where you might have been intellectually. I mean, 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:22.040 how do you separate those two things? And were there 0:14:22.040 --> 0:14:25.000 at time times when they overlapped in a way that 0:14:25.080 --> 0:14:28.040 wasn't helpful? You know, I think about that a lot 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:32.040 because people have often said to me, Um, does the 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.560 friendship get in the way of being the senior advisor? 0:14:34.600 --> 0:14:36.600 Does the senior advisor get in the way of the friendship? 0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:38.800 That's a much better way of asking the question. I 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:42.080 just asked, thank you, but only because I've heard it 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:44.840 a lot so I know it well. I think it 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:47.840 has only helped. I think that part of being a 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:51.680 senior advisor is knowing the person really well who you 0:14:51.720 --> 0:14:55.560 are responsible for advising, UM, trusting that person, and having 0:14:55.600 --> 0:14:59.000 that person trust you. And senior advisor to the President 0:14:59.080 --> 0:15:02.640 United States, Um, you want a person who shares your values, 0:15:03.080 --> 0:15:07.840 your vision for the country, your motivations, and so I 0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:11.960 think it has actually been a real strength, and we compartmentalized, 0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:14.840 and so when we're in the office, I call him Mr. President, 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:18.240 and I make sure that whatever advice I give him 0:15:18.760 --> 0:15:21.560 is well thought out and that I've consulted broadly and widely. 0:15:21.600 --> 0:15:25.320 Since part of my responsibility through public engagement and in 0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:27.840 the governmental affairs is to make sure that I'm not 0:15:27.920 --> 0:15:29.840 just talking to him off the cuff, but it's informed 0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:33.760 by the American people and the other elected officials whose 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:35.880 lives are going to be impacted, jobs will be impacted 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:41.200 by what we do. So I'm very careful about his time, 0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:42.920 and I'm very careful about making sure I have my 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:47.160 ducks in order. When we're socializing, I just tell him 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:49.040 whatever comes off the top of my hat. But we're 0:15:49.080 --> 0:15:51.880 not talking about my job. I mean, who in their 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:54.400 personal life when you're hanging out with your friends spend 0:15:54.440 --> 0:15:56.440 a lot of time talking about your job. His whole 0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:58.760 point when he's down is to be down, and so 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:02.160 I'm very respectful of that unless he brings up, so 0:16:02.200 --> 0:16:03.960 it's kind of up to him. But I would never 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:06.840 try to burden a dinner conversation with what we're doing 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:08.720 at work. We talk about our kids, We talk about 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:11.040 television shows, we talk about what are we going to 0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:13.560 do this weekend, just like everybody else. And I think, 0:16:14.320 --> 0:16:18.440 I think honoring the necessity for normalcy in his life 0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:22.080 is where I'm being the best friend. So here's how 0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:24.880 the New York Times described you a few years ago, 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:27.760 and this struck me. She is the single most influential 0:16:27.800 --> 0:16:31.400 person in the Obama White House. Partly it is her ubiquity, 0:16:31.480 --> 0:16:33.880 the guiding hand and everything from who sits on the 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:36.800 Supreme Court to who sits next to him at state dinners. 0:16:36.800 --> 0:16:40.040 The White House staff memos peppered with VJ thinks or 0:16:40.160 --> 0:16:43.280 VJ says If Karl Rove was known as George W. 0:16:43.400 --> 0:16:47.960 Bush's political brain, Ms Jarrett is Mr Obama's spine. And 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:51.600 this tidbit from somebody who probably isn't too fond of you. 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:54.920 She is the only staff member who regularly follows the 0:16:54.920 --> 0:16:57.520 president home from the West Wing to the residents, a 0:16:57.640 --> 0:17:01.040 practice that has earned her the nickname the night Stalker. 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:05.560 How do you react to that? Well, first of all, 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:11.280 I think that, um, it is only natural in Washington 0:17:11.480 --> 0:17:16.520 for people to um be threatened by proximity. That's point 0:17:16.640 --> 0:17:18.920 number one. And so I take a fair amount of 0:17:18.960 --> 0:17:21.880 that with a grain of salt. By it's only natural 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:25.280 because of our relationship that you might have something like 0:17:25.600 --> 0:17:29.000 that kind of a title. Um. I think that people 0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:31.560 who know the president know that he's the one with 0:17:31.640 --> 0:17:34.560 the firm, steady spine. He's the one that's never wavering. 0:17:34.960 --> 0:17:36.879 He doesn't need me to buck him up in that 0:17:37.040 --> 0:17:40.960 respect at all, and that if anything, on days when 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:44.920 I am and other members of our team are feeling glum, 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:48.240 he's the one who says, remember why we're here. And 0:17:48.680 --> 0:17:50.800 early Anni used to tease me because I would watch 0:17:50.800 --> 0:17:53.399 cable television and I would come in ranting and he'd say, 0:17:53.640 --> 0:17:56.359 turn off the cable and turn on the American people. 0:17:56.880 --> 0:18:00.000 And it was a nice, like, you know, jolt to say, Okay, 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:03.960 you're right, Why am I bothering you with some um 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:06.760 gobbled leg up? And when we are the time you 0:18:06.840 --> 0:18:08.800 ever is so precious you have to use it really well. 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:12.320 Uh So that's kind of my reaction to it, I 0:18:12.359 --> 0:18:15.719 will say, I think, Um, I think people now appreciate 0:18:15.800 --> 0:18:17.800 the role that I have in the way that when 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:20.440 you start with a new team, everybody's feeling a little insecure, 0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:24.960 and that that kind of Um, nonsense is just perfectly normal. 0:18:25.480 --> 0:18:27.880 But I think the folks who were here now and 0:18:27.920 --> 0:18:30.720 those with whom we've worked so closely over the years, 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:34.400 recognize how important it is for me to be not 0:18:34.480 --> 0:18:36.480 just the advisor to the President, but a member of 0:18:36.520 --> 0:18:39.479 the team. We'll be right back with Valerie Jarrett. We're 0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:41.280 going to take a quick break to tell you about 0:18:41.280 --> 0:18:44.760 our sponsors, and we'll hear from some visitors outside the 0:18:44.760 --> 0:18:53.080 White House. There's nothing more idyllic, or perhaps more American 0:18:53.440 --> 0:18:56.760 than the White House. At Christmas time, I sent Brian 0:18:56.840 --> 0:19:00.720 out because because it was yeah to talk with some 0:19:00.800 --> 0:19:04.439 White House visitors from all over the country. Have a listen. 0:19:05.359 --> 0:19:09.200 Where are you guys from Keller, Texas, Trustful Alabama, dr 0:19:09.320 --> 0:19:13.280 North Carolina, away from England, London. We live not in London. 0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:15.320 Say yeah, is this your first time at the White House? 0:19:15.320 --> 0:19:17.360 It is for me. Yeah, it's not my first time. 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:19.360 It is the first time at the White House. Yeah, 0:19:19.400 --> 0:19:20.960 first sign to d C. So I just go here 0:19:21.240 --> 0:19:24.000 this morning. It's my first time. Yes. What do you 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:29.119 think President Obama's legacy is? Wow? That's a What do 0:19:29.160 --> 0:19:31.240 you think I think his legacy has changed? He's done 0:19:31.240 --> 0:19:33.160 a lot of change. Um, done a lot of good 0:19:33.160 --> 0:19:35.440 for the country, So I think he left his mark 0:19:35.440 --> 0:19:37.920 in a good way. You're gonna miss him. I will 0:19:37.920 --> 0:19:40.920 miss him a lot, I might cry. How do you 0:19:40.960 --> 0:19:50.439 assess the last eight years under President Obama? Trying? Trying 0:19:50.480 --> 0:19:54.119 to assess or a trying time for you? A trying time. 0:19:54.880 --> 0:19:58.639 Are you excited about the transition to Donald Trump? Nervous 0:19:58.680 --> 0:20:00.960 about it? How do you think about it? A little nervous? 0:20:01.000 --> 0:20:05.280 But I think he's He's going to be good. Um, 0:20:06.040 --> 0:20:09.800 I don't know. It's it's it's subject is a very 0:20:09.800 --> 0:20:12.240 touchy subject. But we're going to roll with the punches. 0:20:13.040 --> 0:20:15.239 I think most people and you kind of fairly, we're 0:20:15.280 --> 0:20:18.240 nervous about it than anything else. But I guess let's 0:20:18.240 --> 0:20:20.640 see what happens when he gets in. I'm very excited 0:20:20.680 --> 0:20:24.840 about the transition. I mean, it's it's America. It's a democracy. 0:20:25.080 --> 0:20:27.119 I don't have to have to be a fan of 0:20:27.160 --> 0:20:29.080 it. It It is what it is, and so why our 0:20:29.119 --> 0:20:35.160 democracy works, So we have to support it. Okay, loyal listeners, 0:20:35.240 --> 0:20:38.199 we have a question for you. Two thousand sixteen was 0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:42.000 considered by many, I think by most, probably by all, 0:20:42.040 --> 0:20:45.600 to be a very tumultuous year. What do you think 0:20:45.640 --> 0:20:49.920 the best thing that happened other than our podcast in sixteen? 0:20:50.320 --> 0:20:52.879 We'd love to hear from you. Call nine to nine, 0:20:53.160 --> 0:20:57.880 two to four, four, six, three seven. Brian Goldsmith will 0:20:57.880 --> 0:21:00.960 be standing by to talk to you. I'm kidding, but 0:21:01.040 --> 0:21:03.360 there is a recording and we'd love to hear from 0:21:03.400 --> 0:21:07.520 you again. The best thing that happened in two thousand sixteen? 0:21:07.600 --> 0:21:09.680 Give us a reason to ring in the new year. Right, 0:21:15.640 --> 0:21:18.919 we're back with Valerie Jarrett. Um I I we have 0:21:19.000 --> 0:21:21.480 to talk to you about the election. I know you 0:21:21.600 --> 0:21:26.040 described it as a punch to the stomach and soul crushing. 0:21:26.800 --> 0:21:32.240 Do you think it was a repudiation of Barack Obama? 0:21:32.560 --> 0:21:35.240 Not at all. If you look at where he's pulling today, 0:21:35.680 --> 0:21:38.520 he's as popular as he's ever visually popular. Was it 0:21:38.560 --> 0:21:41.240 a repudiation of his policies? No, I don't think so 0:21:41.280 --> 0:21:43.600 at all. He wasn't on the ballot. I mean, obviously 0:21:43.640 --> 0:21:47.359 he campaigned for Secretary Clinton. What was clear is that 0:21:47.480 --> 0:21:52.160 his popularity was not transferable. What happened, Oh my goodness, 0:21:52.280 --> 0:21:54.119 there are going to be far wiser people than I 0:21:54.200 --> 0:21:56.920 to figure that out. Very wise story. If you had 0:21:56.960 --> 0:21:59.199 to say, she didn't get enough votes in the places 0:21:59.200 --> 0:22:02.160 where she needed to have them too much about her, 0:22:02.200 --> 0:22:04.800 and it was Clinton fatigue. I have no idea. I 0:22:04.880 --> 0:22:07.000 really just don't know what you do. But you're still 0:22:07.040 --> 0:22:15.200 going to say I don't know because for right now, Um, 0:22:15.240 --> 0:22:17.560 I mean I described those emotions of how I felt 0:22:17.600 --> 0:22:20.240 the day after the election, and you know what, we've 0:22:20.280 --> 0:22:22.919